Notice to Individual Debtors of Filing Requirements Under the Bankruptcy Act of 2005

All bankruptcy cases filed on or after October 17, 2005, are subject to the Bankruptcy Act of 2005. That law requires the filing of certain new documents. Since your bankruptcy case is subject to the new law, you are required to timely file all the documents required by the Bankruptcy Act of 2005.

You need to review the attached filing requirements and make sure that you have filed all the documents required. Your case could be dismissed without further notice if you fail to file all the required documents within the time periods stated.

The following documents, if they were not filed with the bankruptcy petition, are required to be filed no later than five days from the date the petition was filed. If any of these documents is not filed within that time, your case can be dismissed.

Statement of Social Security Number. If you did not submit this form with your petition, you need to complete it and file it within 5 days.

Credit Counseling Certificate. The Clerk’s Office publishes a list of those providers approved, for the state of Texas, by the Office of the United States Trustee to provide credit counseling. You may also check the Court's website to see if there are any new approved providers. The credit counselor will provide the certificate you need to file with the court. There is no form.

The following documents, if they were not filed with the bankruptcy petition, are required to be filed no later than fourteen days from the date the petition was filed. If any of these documents are not filed within that time, your case can be dismissed.These forms may be obtained from the National Forms section on the Court's Rules/Forms/Fees page.

Schedules A through J and Summary

Statement of Financial Affairs

Statement of Intention

Individual Debtor Statement of Current Monthly Income and Means Test Calculation

If you had a previous case pending within the preceding year that was dismissed, you are advised that pursuant to 11 USC Section 362(c)(3), the automatic stay provided by Section 362(a) when the bankruptcy petition is filed will terminate in 30 days of the filing of your petition, unless you file a motion with the court seeking a continuation of the automatic stay and the court determines that the second case was filed in good faith. If you do not file this motion, the stay will terminate in 30 days.

If you had two or more previous cases pending within the preceding year that were dismissed, you are advised that pursuant to 11 USC Section 362(c)(4), no stay under Section 362 (a) went into effect when your petition was filed. Any party may request that the court enter an order confirming that there is no stay in effect. To obtain a stay, you must file a motion within 30 days of the date of the filing of the petition, and demonstrate that the new case was filed in good faith.

Subject to limited exceptions, an individual debtor must complete an instructional course in personal financial management in order to receive a discharge under chapter 7. You must complete and file a Debtor’s Certification of Completion of Instructional Course Concerning Personal Financial Management (See National Forms-B23). Best practice includes filing both Form B23 along with the actual Certificate of Debtor Education. This form must be filed before a discharge can be entered. This form is required to be filed within 60 days after the first date set for the meeting of creditors. Failure to file the certification could result in your case being closed without entry of your discharge.
To reopen the case to obtain your discharge, you could be required to pay a reopening fee which is equal to the filing fee for the chapter under which the case was pending. The Clerk’s office publishes a list of providers approved, for the state of Texas, by the Office of the United States Trustee that provide this required financial management course. You may also check the Court's website for approved providers.

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